


Fall (3 Months After)

by tinycamembert



Category: Cafe Cardamari Tales
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Gen, Mild Language, just in case, pretty sure this is still gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2020-07-10 05:21:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19900483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinycamembert/pseuds/tinycamembert
Summary: Bella runs into Marian, three months after everything.





	Fall (3 Months After)

**Author's Note:**

> never posted this one bc its human au and i essentially made up a little sister for bella lol. i know she has a lot of siblings in canon but we dont know anything abt them so. 
> 
> anyways enjoy! its sad

"Bella, Bella, come on," Viola begs, tugging at her older sister's arm as she looks wistfully at the colorful assortment of ice cream, nose almost pressed against the glass as Bella holds her back.

"Alright, Vi," Bella laughs, placing a hand on her shoulder as she leads her inside the shop. The sickly sweet scent hits her nose immediately; rows of gallons ice cream all lined up inside the shop, ready to be served. Bella watches as Viola orders for herself, reaching up on her tiptoes to point at the flavor she wants, and Bella pulls out her wallet to pay.

"You don't want any, sis?" Viola asks as they reach the cashier, her chocolate cone clutched in both hands, already starting to melt in her grip. Bella only shrugs. "Nah," she says, ruffling her little sister's hair as she exchanges bills with the cashier before the two girls walk out of the shop, into the beginnings of a chilly breeze in late September. "I'm not really in the mood for ice cream today."

Viola frowns at this, as if contemplating the statement. "You've been sad lately," she says matter-of-factly. "Ice cream would make you feel better."

"Lemme have a lick of yours, then," Bella chirps, bending down and pretending to push her sister out of the way, managing to get a bit of ice cream on her tongue (and the side of her cheek) in the process. Viola giggles and pushes Bella back, her eyes bright with laughter, and although Bella smiles along with her sister she can't help but feel hollow after the exchange is over. 

Viola doesn't bring up her concerns again, which Bella is grateful for, although she can tell it's still on her mind. Unsure of how to explain the concept of heartbreak and betrayal to an eight-year old, Bella had never had it in her to fully explain what had happened between her and Marian three months ago. Unfortunately, that never meant that Viola's curiosity had waned regarding why Marian never came around anymore, or why every time her name was mentioned Bella's jaw did that "funny twitching thing", as she liked to call it. 

Instead of pressing the subject, Viola reaches for Bella's hand, and Bella accepts it, sticky fingers and all. Bella knows better than anyone that she has been doing a lousy job of masking her generally surly attitude and mood swings the past few months, and eight-year olds have always been perceptive, not to mention blunt.

And still, Bella doesn't know how to approach the topic, unable to deal with the subject of her own breakup even within her own thoughts. Her quest for revenge is as fiery and persistent as it was from the start, yet still so easily derailed by innocent statements such as, "Mari's probably not coming for Thanksgiving this year, right?" asked by Viola with a timid voice and innocent eyes. That had been a few weeks ago, yet the simplicity of a question that dealt with something so complicated and messy had left Bella stunned for what felt like days afterward. 

Unaware of her older sister still drowning in her thoughts, Viola leads Bella into a park nearby, fascinated with the changing foliage. Bella watches as Viola picks up colorful leaves, remarking on which ones she could press and save at home, and tries to enjoy the cool air and early autumn sun. Maybe just once, she can leave the thoughts of Marian behind, and enjoy this time with her sister. 

Bella crouches down and looks for leaves that Viola might want to keep, trying to find the brightest one she can. "What about this one, Vi?" Bella asks, standing up and turning to get her sister's approval, but Viola is gone.

"What—" Bella mutters, the leaf already crushed in her hand as she pivots on the spot, eyes darting around for a glimpse of her sister's curly hair and a fistful of brightly colored leaves. 

A few more seconds of frantic searching later and Bella spots the purple hue of her jacket, turning around a nearby corner and disappearing past a thicket of trees.

"Vi," Bella hollers, already running after her. How did she run off so fast? "Viola!"

She rounds the corner at practically a full sprint, half furious that Viola had run off and half terrified that something had happened to her, and skids to a stop to avoid colliding with her little sister—and behind her, Marian Camembert.

Viola holds her hands up, desperately, as if begging Bella to give her a chance.

"I just— I, I saw her, and I wanted to say hi," she trembles, still panting from her wild dash away from Bella. "Because, um, because—I haven't seen her in a while! And I missed her! And I thought that maybe she might tell me why you're so upset lately because—"

"Viola," Bella interrupts, and her little sister stops abruptly, nervously running the zipper of her jacket up and down its track. Her lower lip trembles. "I missed her," Viola whispers. "I'm sorry."  
"She didn't mean any harm," Marian interjects. Bella snaps her head up to meet Marian's gaze so fast that she startles. Marian freezes on the spot, golden eyes wide and frantic behind her glasses, and Bella can practically hear her panicked thoughts from where she stands. 

Somewhere around her waist, Bella hears Viola let out a sniffle. 

Marian's wearing the same fucking shirt she always wears, Bella thinks somewhat hysterically, as her gaze darts from the quick rise and fall of her ex-girlfriend's chest to the prominent bags under her eyes, which seem darker than normal. Bella allows herself to feel the satisfaction, and the underlying relief that comes with it, that Marian does not seem to be any better off than herself at the current moment. 

Bella's cold stare roams from Marian's eyes to her clenched fists, slender fingers nervously clutching her barely-too-long sleeves, her lips still barely parted in surprise, and feels a fire ignite in her stomach, white hot with rage and terror and something else. 

"I—I—" Marian stumbles, suddenly letting out the breath she had been holding and taking in one big gasp, but Bella won't let her start.

"I thought you told me to never talk to you again," she snarls, and Marian sputters and stops, her face flushing redder.

Below her, Viola grips her older sisters sleeve with a more audible sniffle, and Bella looks down to see her with fat tears welling in her eyes, brimming up and threatening to spill down over her cheeks and into the bright leaves below. The fire in Bella's stomach goes out just as quickly as it had ignited, leaving her empty once more. 

"Let's go, Vi," Bella mutters, picking up her little sister despite her size, despite the fact that on her eighth birthday she had insisted that she was now too big to be held. Viola allows it, clutching her leaves in one hand and Bella's shirt in the other. Bella can feel Marian's eyes burning on her back as she walks away, and she clenches her teeth to force down the lump in her throat, feeling the muscles in her jaw tic.

"I'm so sorry," she murmurs in Viola's ear once they round the corner, trying not to let her voice crack, as Viola flings both arms around her neck and squeezes her tight. Viola buries her face in her older sister's shoulder, finally letting go of the leaves she had gripped so tightly before as she lets out a sob. Bella watches them fall, vivid colors crumpled on the ground as she lets out a great shuddering breath, feeling numb and unable to figure out who her apology was truly for.


End file.
